Techniques.

The first firing will be done as naked raku. That means that the clay objects will be fired bundled in wood shavings which will give out smoke. The latter leaves beautiful marks on the clay where it touches it.
Some examples.

 Here the vessel has been glazed and scraped. The smoke left dark patterns in not covered areas.

 Not glazed square piece where the white areas were covered with special slip that peeled off after raku firing process. The rabbit statue also made by using pinch pot method and raku fired.

These pinch pots are made by Kieran Whitelaw that were part of exhibition  called Then and Now, 

June -September 2011.

Raku fired, based on a bead.

Wheel throwing a bowl.

On Tuesday we learned how to throw a bowl on a wheel which was some experience. Some amount of force is acquired to make the clay do what you want it to do. Plus the concentration on doing few thing s at the same time as in using your foot to control the speed.

It is kind of mesmerizing to watch someone else do it though. Just a few Ghost movie moments there :)

Had a lecture today about the history of ceramic. It is interesting to find out how recent the industrially made ceramic is. Also had discussion about  handmade versus industrially made.

Ceramics a fargile history. To look up for interesting facts about ceramics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zivocu4DXjw